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Editorial Reviews

Nothing says All Hallows' Eve like early animated films, with their bumptious bent for ghosts and goblins! Now the Stathes Collection brings you a ghoulish gaggle of shorts featuring Max Fleischer, Otto Messmer, Koko the Clown, Mutt and Jeff, and more—in scary soirees with the supernatural! Come for the classics; stay for THE HAUNTED HOTEL (1907), one of the first-ever animated frights!

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Cartoon Roots: Halloween Haunts is a true treat. The short films are beautifully restored. Most feature amazing, innovative techniques and original storytelling. One of my favorite things about early film is how creative and innovative the early filmmakers were. This was all new with no real precedents, and the animators were a lot of young kids with wild ideas, so they were really free to experiment and fail. I don't think we'll ever see such an era again. And THREE Felix the Cat cartoons! Does it get better than that? I give it 4 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.

I love this collection of cartoons! I run a Halloween event with my animation group and this was the perfect DVD to share! The cartoons themselves are really great quality. I would only wish it had a little more content.

Another excellent collection of early animation from Tommy Jose Stathes' Cartoons On Film. If you love early animation or want to experience it for the first time, this is a great set to start with. Excellently restored transfers including new music scores and all in HD. I was specifically interested in the early Walt Disney Alice short "Alice's Mysterious Mystery" and I wasn't disappointed. The print used for this particular transfer includes the ending punchline which is missing from some other releases including Disney's own Treasures set. There are plenty of other gems in this set as well. Don't miss out on this one.

I’ll make this real easy: If you see a DVD/blu-ray collection titled “Cartoon Roots”, buy it. Simply send the money and don’t think twice.

This is the third collection in the Cartoon Roots series from Tommy Jose Stathes’ Cartoon On Film library, and all three are important additions to your personal collection. Must-haves. Stathes is quickly becoming a force in the efforts to save historically significant animated films and doing vital, expert restoration work to preserve them. His latest Halloween-themed compilation is filled to the brim with fifteen animation rarities – from studios including Bray, Fleischer, Lantz, Disney, Kinex, Van Beuren, Pat Sullivan and others.

Needless to say these cartoons feature Koko the Clown, Felix The Cat, The original Tom & Jerry, Dinky Doodle, Mutt and Jeff, among many familiar faces. The print sources come from 16mm (and I think 35mm – the quality of such titles as Fleischer’s Ouiji Board, Sullivan’s Sure-Locked Homes, Lantz’ Just Spooks and Pete’s Haunted House are particularly outstanding). The Alice comedy here, Alice’s Mysterious Mystery is a better copy (and tinted, too) than the version on the Disney’s Treasures set.

Musical tracks by Charlie Judkins and Robert Israel add to the spooky fun. Stephen DeStefano’s cool cover (and menu image) is icing on the cake. There’s also a wonderfully informative booklet (written by several Cartoon Research regulars) and bonus features that contain rare press clippings and trade reviews of many of the cartoons in the set. Tommy even found a few cancelled checks representing what theatre owners paid to run each cartoon (Spoiler alert: $2.). Tommy’s retail price for this set allows you to enjoy these cartoons for a price lower than two bucks per cartoon – and its not a rental, you can keep this collection forever. And you’ll want to. Highly Recommended!

The best of the three Cartoon Roots blu rays. All three are stellar. Buy all three to support a lot of hard work in restoration and musical scoring. “The Fresh Lobster” is the greatest surrealist short I’ve ever seen.